Display shelf for merchandise



J! G. KRAFT DISPLAY SHELF FOR MERCHANDISE March 4 1924.,-

Filed Oct'. 16, 1923 ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 4, W224.

JOSEPH G. KRAFT, 0F ORANGE, NEVJ JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO T. V. KRAFT 56 CO.(CON- rte area @FFEQE.

SISTING OF WILLIAM HUSSENNETTEE AND JOSEPH G. KRAFT, .COPARTNERS), OF

new YORK, n. Y.

DISPLAY SHELF FOR MERCHANDISE.

Application filed October 16, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrr-r G. KRAFT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Display Shelves forMerchandise; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which illustratesseveral forms in which I have contemplated embodying the same, selectedby me for pur poses of illustration, and the said invention is fullydisclosed in the following description and claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a shelf for displaying andsupporting articles of merchandise, especially in show windows,counters, cases and cabinets used in stores for the display and sale ofmerchandise, by means of which various articles of merchandise can besupported in such position as to be readily seen, the supporting shelfbeing preferably provided with a portion on which the price of thearticle can be displayed, together with advertising matter, if desired,and the whole device being capa ble of being constructed very cheaply,while at the same time being sufliciently strong and rigid to supportthe article or articles placed thereon without danger of beingaccidentally overturned or otherwise disturbed. My improvement consistspreferably of two members composed usually and preferably ofcomparatively thin card board or other thin and inexpensive sheetmaterial, although obviously they could be formed of sheet metal,celluloid, wood veneer, and any other sheet material which may be foundto be suitable. The device comprises a front plate, provided, usuallybelow its vertical center, with a horizontally disposed slot, the edgesof the slot being deflected out of alignment with each other, the upperedge extending to the rear of the lower edge, and one or both of saidedges being deflected out of the plane of the front plate member, and asupporting plate member provided with portions of greater width than thelength of Serial No. 668,815.

the slot in the front plate, and with a projecting shelf portion adaptedto extend through the slot and project from the front face of the platemember, so as to form a supporting shelf for the article of merchandiseto be carried thereon, and said members being held substantiallyperpendicularly to each other. I have discovered asthe result of actualexperiment that by constructing this device in the manner described andforming the edges of the slot out of alignment with each other so thatthe upper edge of the slot will have portions in rear of portions of thefront edge of the slot, the edges of the slot will contact with thesupporting member so as to lock the two parts of the device together andprevent the rearward or downward movement of the plate member, when thedevice is placed upon a supporting surface, thus holding the parts veryfirmly in position and enabling a considerable weight to be supported onthe forwardly projecting shelf member. In fact it is found that theeffect of placing the weight on the shelf member greatly stifiens thestructure and assists in preventing the accidental collapse ordisplacement of the device.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a front view of my improved device in a formconvenient for the display of a book, package of merchandise, or othersimilar article, a bookbeing indicated in dotted lines in supportedposition.

Fig. 2 is a vertical central sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the device.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the plate member showing a slightmodification of the device.

Fig. 5 is a central sectional view of the complete device, showing aslight modification of the same, indicated in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 represents a sectional view of a further modification in which aplurality of supporting shelves are provided in connection with thefront plate.

1 represents the front plate member of the device formed preferably ofcard-board, and provided below its center with a horizontally extendingslot, 2, the edges of which are bent or deflected out of alignment witheach other so that the upper edge of the slot extends to the rear of thelower edge. This can be very conveniently done at the time the slotformed, by means of suitable pres-- sure devices acting in conjunctionwith the knife or cutter which forms the slot. In some instances thedesired result can be complislied by simply pressing the mate. Ll at theupper edge of the slot rearwardly out of the plane of the plate member,1, as in.- dicated at 3, in Fo i 2. The lower edge of the slot may be inthe same plane as the rest of the plate member, or it may be bent orpressed forwardly out of the plane the plate member, l, as indicated at4-, in Fig. In other words it is essential that the edges of the slothave portions out of alignment with each other, the upper edge of theslot extending to the rear of the lower edge, and thisim be accomplishedby forcing portions of one or ooth out of a ignment with the platemember, as may be preferred. represents the sipoortina i'i'iember, themain body portion of which wider than the slot, as indicated in Fig. 3,and is provides at its upper end with. shelf portion, 6, of widthsubstantially equal to the length of the slot, 2, forming; an" larshoulders, T, where the shelf portion, (3, joins the main body of thesupport, lit will seen that the shelf, 6, can be readily inserted in theslot, :2, and forced upwardly therein, until the shoulders, 1-7, engagethe plate member, and the support, 5, is of such length as to supportthe plate member in a nearly verticalline, as indicated in Fig. 2,. whenthe device is placed upon a horizontal sup porting, surface, saidmembers being held substantially perpendicularly to each other. It willbe seen that the leverage afforded the support, 5, between the portions,3 and 4: of the plate member, above and below the slot, 2, enables thesupport, 5, to not only hold the plate member, 1, in a substantiallyvertical position, but also enables the l'QSllu, ing structure to resista considerable strain and permits the for; irdly projecting shelfportion, 6, to support a very considerable weight, notwithstanding thethinness and lightness of the material from which the parts areconstructed. It will also be seen, by reference to Fig. 2 that when anarticle, as for example, a book, a package of merchandise a package ofstationery or other material, or a bottle of perfume, or any otherarticle is placed upon the shelf, 6, the weight of the article itselfwill be largely supported by the lower portion of the. plate member, 1,in a substantially direct line from the lower edge of the slotto thebottom ed no of the plate member, 1, and that this weight will, as amatter of fact, assist in locking the supporting member, 5, between thesta rgered edges. 8. and 4;, of the slot, 2, so as to render thestriicti more rigid than t is without the application of the weight 0the article.

' plished, as indicated in F in which 1 represents the plate member, byforming the I 2*, and providing a trai'isverse slit 2", I tendingvertically at each end of the" slot above the same or below the same, orextending both above and below, as indicated in Fig. l. The formation ofthese vertical slits, 2", makes it possible to deflect either or boththe ed of the slotfl, throughout the entire length of the slot, as shownin Fig. 5, and in some instances this construction may be desirable. Itis within the scope of my invention, although I prefer to form the slot2, in the manner indicated in Figs. 1,2 and 3.

It also within the scope of my invention to provide the plate memberwith a plurality of supporting members and forwardly projecting shelves,so that the device will support a plurality of articles at the sametime. I have illustrated such a construction in Fig. 6, in which 10represents the plate member, provided 'ith two transverse slots 12 and19/", located one above the other, ach of which is engaged by asupporting member, indicated at 15, 15, having forwardly projectingshelves 16 and 16, projecting through and on the forward side of theplate member, 10, so as to support a plurality of articles one above theother. The edges of the slots, l212 arc deflected out of alignment witheach other in the manner heretofore described, so that the structurewill be braced in the manner heretofore set forth and supported both thesupporting members, l515, these two members being formed of differentlengths, so as to mainlain the plate member, 10 in the desired substantially vertical position.

These devices can be made of any desired size, depending upon thecharacter of the article or articles of merchandise intended to, besupported on the shelf. For example, a very simple form of the devicebut a few inches in height and formed of light cardboard, can beconveniently used for the display of knives and other articles ofcutlery, lead pencils, fountain pens, cigars and many other forms ofmerchandise which can be conveniently supported on the forwardlyprojecting shelf portion. By making the device of slightly heaviercard-board or other suitable material, much larger and heavier objectscan be supported and dirplayed on the projecting shelf portions, and

1 names there is practically no limit to the size and proportions inwhich the devices may be made, providing the sheet material is ofsufficient strength. In making these devices it is preferred that theplate member should extend above the article supported on the projectingshelf a sufficient distance to enable the price of the article to bedisplayed and appropriate advertising may be placed upon the upperportion of the plate member or upon the lower portion thereof, or both,as desired. In many cases these devices may naturally be printedexpressly for the particular articles to be displayed thereon, withappropriate advertising, and the price at which they are offered forsale or the devices may be made blank and the prices as well as theadvertising or descriptive matter may be applied by hand.

Any suitable means may be employed if desired for detachably affixingthe price indications so that these may be changed from time to time inorder to permit the device to be used with different articles ofmerchandise, or articles of merchandise of different prices or toaccommodate variations in the price of the articles. In Fig. l I haveshown a simple arrangement whereby this may be conveniently accomplishedin which the plate member, 1, is provided with parallel horizontalslits, indicated at 88, to receive a card or plate, 9, which is insertedin these slits and held detachably therein, the figures expressing theprice being placed on this removable card, 9.

l/Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A portabledisplay shelf for merchandise comprising a front plate member providedwith a horizontal closed slot located substantially centrally of itswidth, a separately formed supporting plate member arranged to extendthrough said slot to form a shelf portion in front of the front platemember and a brace member at the rear of the same, said members being insubstantially perpendicular relation to each other when in set position,and means predetermining the extent which said shelf portion projectsfrom the front of said front plate member.

2. A portable display shelf for merchandise comprising a front platemember provided with a horizontal slot located substantially centrallyof its width, a sepa rately formed supporting plate member arranged toextend through said slot to form a shelf portion in front of the frontplate member and a brace member at the rear of the same, the upper edgeof said slot engaging the supporting plate member in rear of theengagement of the lower edge of the slot therewith, said members beingin substantially perpendicular relation to each other when in setposition, and means predetermining the extent which said shelf portionprojects from the front face of said front plate member.

3. A portable display shelf for merchandise comprising a front platemember provided with a horizontal closed slot located substantiallycentrally of its width, a separately formed supporting plate memberarranged to extend through said slot to form a shelf portion in front ofthe front plate member and a brace member at the rear of the same, andshoulders extending laterally of the shelf portion and arranged toengage the rear face of said front plate member to predetermine theextent which said shelf portion projects from the front of said frontplate member.

4. A portable display shelf for merchandise comprising a front platemember provided with a horizontal closed slot located substantiallycentrally of its width, a separately formed supporting plate memberarranged to extend through said slot to form a shelf portion in front ofthe front plate member and a brace member at the rear of the same, andmeans predetermining the extent which said shelf portion projects fromthe front of said front plate member.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH G. KRAFT.

